The Chinese Cultural Revolution : a history / Paul Clark, the University of Auckland, New Zealand.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 325-338) and index.

Figures -- Acknowledgments -- Chronology of cultural and political developments, 1949-1980s -- Introduction : a revolution in culture -- [pt]. 1. Modelling a new culture -- 1. Modernizing Chinese opera -- 2. The start of the Cultural Revolution -- 3. The first five model operas -- 4. The art of the model operas -- [pt]. 2. Spreading the new models -- 1. Proclaiming the model performances -- 2. Other model operas -- 3. Transplanting the models -- 4. The importance of the model performances -- 5. Reorganizing the ranks -- [pt]. 3. Fixing culture on film -- 1. Films besieged -- 2. Cleansing the ranks -- 3. Fixing the model performances on film -- 4. New-style feature films -- 5. Growing the industry, pleasing audiences -- [pt]. 4. Elaborating culture : dance, music, stage and fine arts -- 1. Dancing for the Revolution -- 2. Scoring the Revolution : music -- 3. Staging culture : spoken drama, Quyi, and other performance forms -- 4. Visualizing the modern : fine arts and architecture -- [pt]. 5. Writing wrongs : public and private fictions and resistance -- 1. Models on the page : official literature -- 2. Hidden pleasures : unofficial, underground literature -- 3. Model assertions : criticizing works -- 4. Screening resistance : films under attack -- [pt]. 6. Conclusion : Forcing modernity -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index.

"A groundbreaking study of cultural life during a turbulent and formative decade in contemporary China, this book seeks to explode several myths about the Cultural Revolution (officially 1966-1976). Through national and local examination of the full range of cultural forms (film, opera, dance, other stage arts, music, fine arts, literature, and even architecture), Clark argues against characterizing this decade as one of chaos and destruction. Rather, he finds that innovation and creativity, promotion of participation in cultural production, and a vigorous promotion of the modern were all typical of the Cultural Revolution. Using a range of previously little-used materials, Clark forces us to fundamentally reassess our understanding of the Cultural Revolution, a period that he sees as the product of innovation in conflict with the effort by political leaders to enforce a top-down modernity."--Jacket.